ABOUT NUS WALES
The National Union of Students (NUS) Wales is a
confederation of students’ unions representing more
than half a million students in the nation. We are an
integral, but autonomous, part of the National Union
of Students UK – meaning we work together to
represent students across the entire country, while
setting our own policy and direction.

St. David’s
Catholic
College

VISION
NUS Wales is a pioneering, innovative and
powerful campaigning organisation: the national
voice of students. We will fight barriers to
education; empower students to shape both a
quality learning experience and the world around
them; as well as supporting influential, democratic
and well-resourced students' unions.

VALUES AND BELIEFS
MISSION
NUS Wales exists to promote, defend and
extend the rights of students and develop and
champion strong students’ unions.

NUS WALES IMPACT REPORT 2012

The core values of NUS Wales are democracy,
equality and collectivism. We believe that student
organisations should be student-led and that
education is a benefit to the individual and to
society.

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FOREWORD
We are the National Union of Students Wales. The
past year has been about securing the students’
voice as education continues to change. From
ensuring students’ unions have essential funding,
to making ourselves fit for purpose, NUS Wales is
working for students.
Universities and colleges are merging and the way
they are funded is changing. Throughout this process,
NUS Wales is working with the Welsh Government to
make sure students are partners in their education.
The students’ unions that form our membership and
set our agenda work to support their students, as well
as hold their universities to account.
No one could have foreseen the failure of a piece of
Welsh educational heritage: the University of Wales.
When it fell into disarray, NUS Wales showed true
leadership. We took the focus off the infighting and
back onto the students.

member students’ unions. That’s exactly what we’ve
done. By regenerating our democratic structures and
events, NUS Wales can now better serve students.
The collective wins we have made for students in the
past year make me immensely proud. But this year
we have an opportunity to shape education in Wales
for generations to come. There is a need for radical
change and innovation. Our vision for education in
Wales will be a cornerstone of our work this year.
We are a confederation of students’ unions, which are
all led by students. We know students. We are students.
But you don’t have to be a student to realise our value.
Join us again in our 39th year of ensuring that education
in Wales is shaped by and works for students.
In unity,
Stephanie Lloyd
NUS Wales President

Last year, NUS Wales decided it was time to change.
We needed to look inwards and truly become the
organisation that works and wins for all of our

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NUS WALES IMPACT REPORT 2012

Bridgend College Students’ Union, the NUS Wales Further Education Students’ Union of 2012.

FURTHERING THE LEARNER VOICE
NUS Wales isn’t just for university students. In fact,
more than half of our member institutions are further
education colleges. That’s why we’re working
tirelessly to help these students grow their voice.
In 2012, our annual conference had more delegates
from colleges than from universities. It’s no surprise
that the conference passed a policy to prioritise further
education. But before this was formalised, NUS Wales
was racking up all sorts of wins for learners in further
education. Here are just a few highlights:
• Bridgend College created a funded full-time
sabbatical officer to lead its growing students’
union. This doubles the number of sabbatical
officers in Wales’ colleges.
• More than 400 class representatives at colleges
were trained – double that from the previous year.
They have a national handbook to help them carry
out their responsibilities, and a certificate to show
their competency.
• A student governor from every college in Wales
has been trained, providing them with the skills and
confidence to participate in meetings and represent
their fellow students. They, too, have a national
handbook to help them in their role, and a certificate
to show their competency.

conference. In tandem with our FE events aimed at
students, we also ran bespoke and targeted training
for the staff that accompanied them to the event.
The result: better prepared staff and more college
students at conference than ever before.
• Every college in Wales will be supported to
develop strong student representation structures
by the end of 2013. All colleges in Wales would
have benefited from specialised support through the
FE student representation project. In addition, events
such as the constitutional review day where
students’ unions and councils can learn how to
improve their democratic structures.
• NUS Wales welcomed a new member: Yale
College. That means we represent 16 out of 17
further education colleges in Wales.
• The first FE student leader and union development
training course was held in Wales. FE Leadership
brought together more than 50 student leaders from
colleges throughout Wales. The event focused on
developing strong and active students' unions,
effective campaigning and provided networking
opportunities for officers.
Many of these accomplishments are directly linked to a
three-year project funded by the Welsh Government.
This project is now entering its third year.

FUNDING OUR STUDENTS’ UNIONS
A unique national deal for students now ensures
that every university in Wales is expected to have a

all students in Wales stand to benefit from the impact
of a students’ union. Our members provide

well-funded students’ union.

fundamental academic and welfare support that keep
students in education. They also offer a wide range of

NUS Wales worked with the funding council (HEFCW)
to outline clear principles and funding guidelines for
all universities and their students’ unions. This mean

sports and activities, from volunteering to large-scale
tournaments.

EDUCATION FOR EMPLOYABILITY
Many students study with the ambition to get a job
when their course ends. In the current economic
climate, they need every bit of help to reach this goal.
That’s why NUS Wales teamed up with the funding
council (HEFCW), the voice of business (CBI Wales),
and the voice of universities (HEW). Together, we
created a framework to help graduates leave higher
education with the skills they need to find a job.

Three big steps will help students and graduates in
Wales:
• Provide more quality work experience and
placement opportunities.
• Increase the number of employer-approved
courses.
• Embed employability skills within the curriculum of
all higher education courses.

WISE REPRESENTATION
The Wales Initiative for Student Engagement wised
up this year. Colleges that provide higher education
courses joined universities in their commitment to
treat students as partners.
WISE believes that students are experts in the
learning process, and their feedback is valued. As the
voice of students in Wales, we’re putting this belief
into practice. That’s why we have a new NUS Wales
staff member who helps build strong structures for
student representation whilst training learners to
maximise the effect of their voice.

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NUS Wales launched the first WISE course
representatives conference at Swansea University in
June 2012. More than 30 students, staff and officers
from around the nation attended. Similar events are
currently in planning for the coming year.
Our partners – the funding council (HEFCW), the
Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), Higher Education
Wales (HEW), Higher Education Academy (HEA) and
ColegauCymru – relaunched our joint commitment to
WISE in 2012.

NUS WALES IMPACT REPORT 2012

POLICY BOOT CAMPS
With a devolved Welsh Government, our members
need unique advice on the policy that impacts them.
The Policy Boot Camp series are free and open to our
member students’ unions. Each camp focuses on a
particular policy topic, presented in a pragmatic

nature and of tangible use to unions. Fee plans and
students’ union funding have piloted this new series,
which is now a permanent fixture. Watch for
announcements on upcoming bootcamps.

HIDDEN MARKS FUNDING
Universities and colleges, in partnership with students’
unions, are developing comprehensive policy on
tackling violence against women who are students.
This Welsh Government funded project continues to
work towards protecting students who are victims of

violence whilst studying. The project sets out to put
procedure in place to help and support these
students but also to work towards ways of preventing
violence against them.

STUDENT SEX WORKERS PROJECT
The first ever Wales-wide research into students that
enter the sex industry is underway.
Through a generous grant of more than £500,000
from the Big Lottery Fund, NUS Wales is working with
Swansea University to find out how many students

NUS WALES IMPACT REPORT 2012

work in this industry, why they do it, and how they
need to be supported. The research also will develop
the first website to provide e-health advice and
guidance to students in sex work.

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REGENERATION
Breathing new life into
NUS Wales.
In 2011, our members sent us a clear message:
NUS Wales is broken; let’s fix it. That’s exactly what
we’re doing.
After NUS Wales Conference 2011, we reviewed our
democratic structures and events. The idea was to
create more time to effectively work on policy
development; become more membership focused;
and be more responsive to the opportunities created
by Wales’ devolved government.
A year later, our 26 students’ unions said yes to
change. Here’s what it looks like:
• NUS Wales Conference is still the sovereign
body of the organisation. Motions passed at the
annual conference directly feed into the official
work plan for NUS Wales – or Scheme of Work.
Four members of NUS Wales National Executive
Committee (WNEC) will be elected. The
conference also will invite union staff to attend as
observers.
• A Scheme of Work cohesively brings together
NUS Wales’ annual priorities. This live document
will spell out the focus of each year, taking into
account the policies adopted at conferences,
officer manifestos, and organisational resources.
• Y Talwrn replaces The Big Welsh One. Y Talwrn is
a new addition to the NUS Wales programme of
events. Student activists, officers and union staff
within NUS Wales are invited to participate. The
event incorporates Wales-specific training to
compliment the UK-wide officer development
programme, as well as networking between
unions, partner organisations and the nation’s
education sector. The newly elected WNEC will
present a draft of the Scheme of Work for
members to comment upon, debate and inform.

Student leaders at the Senedd
have other opportunities to gain skills and feed into
the Scheme of Work. These events will be similar
to the FE Leadership event run by NUS UK.
• Changing Winter Council to the NUS Wales Zone
Conference. This event will enable policy to be
developed, the Scheme of Work amended, and
three positions on the NUS Wales National
Executive Committee elected.

• Regional further education events hosted in the
autumn. Because of Y Talwrn's timing in the
summer, further education students and staff will

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NUS WALES IMPACT REPORT 2012

Wales National
Executive Committee
• takes office on 1 July
• develops a draft Scheme
of Work with help of staff

OUR STUDENTS’ UNIONS
NUS Wales is a confederation of students’ unions. Every union is independent, but together they unite to
form a greater collective voice that works for them. Here are the students’ unions we proudly call our
members:

OUR STAFF
NUS Wales staff support the student leadership to turn their policy into action. The staff members are based
in Cardiff Bay.

Director
Hannah Pudner
provides
management
support to the
staff team,
supports the
Wales National
Executive Committee, liaises with a
variety of stakeholders, ensures
compliance with governance and
manages the finances.
Hannah.Pudner@nus-wales.org.uk

Head of Membership
Development (maternity cover)
Emily Cannon
is the first point
of contact for
all higher
education
unions in
Wales. She
delivers training, election support,
guidance on governance and
democratic issues, and helps
unions to plan campaigns.
Emily.Cannon@nus-wales.org.uk

Further Education
Projects Officer
Stuart Jones is
the first point of
contact for all
further
education
unions. He
delivers training
and develops democratic
structures within colleges as part
of a three-year Welsh Government
funded project.
Stuart.Jones@nus-wales.org.uk

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Campaigns and
Communications
Officer

Project Officer

Joni Alexander
is the first point
of contact for
media. She
coordinates
communications,
works with the
student leadership to plan and
implement campaigns for change,
and delivers training in these
areas.
Joni.Alexander@nus-wales.org.uk

Rachel Brown is
delivering a
project
highlighting the
issues
surrounding
alcohol among
students and promoting the aims of
Drinkaware. She also is leading on
the Hidden Marks project,
developing policy to tackle violence
against women who are students.
Rachel.Brown@nus-wales.org.uk

Administrator
Representation
and Policy Officer
Kieron Rees
provides
training and
support to
develop
student
representation
structures and best practice in
higher education. He also works to
develop NUS Wales tertiary
education policy.
Kieron.Rees@nus-wales.org.uk

Hilary Akerman
provides
support to all
the staff and
student
leadership. She
manages the
travel bookings, facilitates
expenses and ensures the office
resources are in full supply.
Hilary.Akerman@nus-wales.org.uk

Welsh Translator
Geoff Jones
translates all
documents and
publications
from NUS
Wales into the
Welsh
language. He also provides
translation at events.
Geoff.Jones@nus-wales.org.uk